MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR FOODBANK TO DO OUR THING.

THE UNWAVERING SUPPORT OF OUR PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS HAS PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN OUR FOOD AND EMERGENCY RELIEF SERVICES ACROSS VICTORIA WITH THE BUSHFIRES, THE PANDEMIC AND, MORE RECENTLY, THE RISING COST OF LIVING CRISIS.

FOODBANK PROGRAMS AND PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORTERS 2021/2022

With the financial backing of these invaluable like-minded organisations, we were able to continue supporting struggling Victorians through our core food relief programs.

FOOD RELIEF/FOOD PURCHASE

With thanks to the State Government and Give2Asia, essential pantry items were bulk purchased and delivered to our charity partners. The multiyear commitment from The Anthony Costa Foundation provided oats to complement these essential items ensuring regular access to healthy food.

Mobile Food Programs

The generous support of The Collie Foundation and the State Government made it possible to continue supplying fresh fruit and vegetables and essential pantry items to regional Victoria through our Mobile Food Programs. This included the public Drive-Thru held in August 2021 distributing over 4,000 hampers to families in need.

Mobile Supermarket

Our Mobile Supermarket Buses have played an important role in delivering food directly to the community in 2021/22. Our thanks go to the Gandel Foundation, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, Sidney Myer Fund, John and Lyn Levy, Bindy and David Koadlow, the Jack & Robert Smorgon Families Foundation, The Kimberley Foundation and the State Government.

Farms To Families Markets

With thanks to The William Buckland Foundation, we were able to deliver our Farms to Families Markets to the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland regions.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT POP-UP SHOP

Along with vital support from the Victorian State Government, we continued to support international students unable to return home during the pandemic with our International Student Pop-Ups.

A BIG, BOLD PLAN

Foodbank is committed to supporting more disadvantaged people across Victoria. As part of our big, bold plan, we are constructing two state-of-the-art, purpose-built warehouses in Ballarat and Morwell. These Community Food Centres will provide the critical missing link between Foodbank’s supply of fresh, healthy food and servicing those needing food relief in the regions. Funding has been secured for the land and build but additional financial support is needed for the fit-out and to ensure the Community Food Centres are operational by mid-2023. For more information on this project, please contact us at (03) 9362 8363 or at philanthropy@foodbankvictoria.org.au.

OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS FROM DONATING SPACE AND PACKING FOOD TO FUNDRAISING ON OUR BEHALF, OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN HELPING FEED VULNERABLE PEOPLE.

THE BIGGER THE CHALLENGE, THE MORE WE SEE OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS STEP UP WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FUNDRAISING IDEAS, VOLUNTEERS AND ADVOCACY. THIS YEAR, THEIR TEAMS DONATED A RECORD 6,725 HOURS OF THEIR TIME TO CREATE HEALTHY MEALS FOR VICTORIANS IN NEED, AND WE COULDN’T BE MORE GRATEFUL.

Ausnet Services

AusNet Services provides an essential service to the people of Victoria and we are thrilled to be partnering with an organisation that works with us on the frontline and in times of natural disaster. Our new partnership enables AusNet Services the opportunity to give back to the community by supporting Foodbank Victoria fundraising initiatives and events.

Peters Ice Cream

Peters Ice Cream is our longest-standing corporate partner and has played an integral role in our food and emergency relief efforts since 2016. Together, we share a common goal of connecting and supporting our community through food. The partnership support provided by Peters is wide and varied including financial support, donation of product, employee fundraising, workplace giving and volunteering. This support equates to more than 1.7 million meals for those in need.

AUSNET IS PROUD TO HAVE COMMENCED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH FOODBANK. THE COMMUNITY CONNECTION AND VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE PARTNERSHIP OFFERS OUR EMPLOYEES, AND THE TRUE VALUE THAT FOODBANK, IN TURN, GIVES TO THOSE WHO NEED IT, IS SOMETHING THAT WE DEEPLY VALUE.

WHEN FOODBANK VICTORIA NEEDED FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO INCREASE THE PROVISION OF HEALTHY FOOD TO THE VICTORIAN COMMUNITY, PETERS WAS THE FIRST TO PUT UP ITS HAND. OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS, THAT SUPPORT HAS NEVER WAVERED. WHETHER IT’S FOOD, FINANCIAL OR VOLUNTEERING SUPPORT, PETERS HAS CONTINUALLY DEMONSTRATED ITS COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING VULNERABLE VICTORIANS.

DAVE MCNAMARA CEO FOODBANK VICTORIA

Port Of Melbourne

Port of Melbourne has partnered with Foodbank Victoria since late 2018, aligning two key organisations within its supply chain sector that have a focus on building better communities and supporting people in need. Port of Melbourne’s valuable support demonstrates its commitment to social impact including regular teams of staff volunteering in our warehouse at Yarraville throughout the year.

PORT OF MELBOURNE IS PROUD TO PARTNER WITH FOODBANK, AND TO PLAY A SMALL PART IN ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED. WHETHER IT IS THROUGH STORMS, FLOODS, ECONOMIC HARDSHIP OR PERSONAL STRUGGLES, FOODBANK IS A CONSTANT SUPPORT FOR OUR COMMUNITY. IT IS A PRIVILEGE FOR OUR STAFF TO VOLUNTEER – WHETHER IT IS PACKING AT THE WAREHOUSE OR HELPING THE COMMUNITY AT THE MOBILE SUPERMARKETS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO SUPPORT FOODBANK BEYOND 2022.

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH CHOBANI CHOBANI, LIKE ITS USA PARENT COMPANY, HAS AN UNWAVERING BELIEF THAT ACCESS TO GOOD FOOD IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE. SINCE PARTNERING WITH FOODBANK OVER TEN YEARS AGO, THE YOGURT MAKER HAS TURNED BELIEF INTO RELIEF, CREATING OVER 1 MILLION MEALS FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY.

“We’re makers of food, so we think we can help make a difference in reducing hunger,” says Lyn Radford, Managing Director of Chobani’s Australian operation. “Hamdi [Ulukaya, Chobani’s founder] is a big supporter of food banks across the USA as well. It’s something the entire organisation is passionate about.”

When the pandemic began to impact Australians, Chobani assessed what was happening in local communities and picked up on a pervading sense of uncertainty around food supply. The team began to manufacture ten pallets of fresh stock every week specifically for Foodbank to help the organisation support its frontline charities. As Lyn explains, “We wanted to reassure Foodbank, that it could rely on our food in that really uncertain time.”

Which led this highly innovative organisation to the idea of a cobranded yogurt.

“We were talking with staff about our support of Foodbank” says Lyn, “and one of our employees said, ‘Why don’t we do a Foodbankspecific batch?’ It was an awesome idea and we launched ‘Fruit for Good’ into supermarkets including Coles and Woolworths and across all our retail partners in February 2022.”

While many organisations throughout the world launch social enterprise products, Chobani identified that most donated only 10 or 20 cents from each sale. “So, we asked ourselves ‘Why can’t we donate 100% of the profits to Foodbank?’“, says Lyn, “and the response was beyond anything we could have imagined.”

When we took the idea to our partners, they said, ‘How can we get on board?’ None of them asked for any kind of credit. It was across the supply chain – from our milk, fruit, and packaging to our retail partners as well. It’s not something I’ve heard of before and I’ve spent a lot of time in the industry. It was fantastic.”

More than 400,000 pots of the yogurt have been sold across Australia since the launch of ‘Fruit for Good’ and Lyn hopes the initiative inspires others like it.

“We are just one pot of yogurt – but imagine if we could inspire other food manufacturers to get together and do the same thing? The collective effort would have an enormous impact. To me, that would be amazing.”

INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH US? PLEASE CONTACT FOODBANK VICTORIA’S PARTNERSHIPS TEAM ON (03) 9362 8300 OR PARTNERSHIPS@FOODBANKVICTORIA.ORG.AU